Footsteps
by lezonne
Summary: Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Round 4. Teddy asks a dangerous question that upsets his godfather, and Hermione swoops in with a tough answer.


**A/n:** Hi there! Here's my entry into the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Round 4! I chose #7, Hermione/Teddy. So here it is! Thanks to my beta **lozipozivanillabean!**

**Optional Prompt 1**: #2. Dialogue: "Lesson learnt?"

**Optional Prompt 2: **#3 Danger

**Optional Prompt 3:** #6 Stupid

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She sat beneath the canopy, reading her book beneath the protective cover as rain plunged down onto the earth, soaking the dirt around the deck until it turned to mud. This summer brought nothing but long dreary days and clouded skies, dragging down everyone's spirits as the days wore on. She speculated that it was probably why everyone was in such a terrible mood.

Her peaceful afternoon was interrupted as the back door burst open, and the figure of fourteen-year old Teddy Lupin stepped out, blue hair an obvious trademark. The door banged against the wall behind him, and she closed her book as the boy wandered towards the railing overlooking the woods. He seemed quite peeved. By the door, she could see Harry, and he beckoned her with a finger. She hid her book under her jacket, to protect it from the rain, and trudged over, exchanging glances between the two young men.

"What's all this?" she asked, peering up at her best friend. He sighed.

"He asked about his parents," Harry replied, looking out at the scenery. "I told him that there wasn't much to tell and he got infuriated with Ron and I, and stormed out here. Hermione, I don't want to go into the specifics."

Cocking an eyebrow, she handed her friend her book, turning away as she smoothed down her hair. "Harry, you out of everyone should understand the yearning to know about the parents you don't have."

"But I'm part of the reason he doesn't have them," the raven-haired man muttered.

"There you go again," she replied, shaking her head, "Blaming yourself for things you couldn't control. Go back inside, I'll handle this."

Without needing to be told twice Harry disappeared inside. Andromeda had become sick Teddy turned eleven, so he'd been living with Harry and Ginny ever since. Since then, things had been tense between Teddy and his godfather. When he was younger he didn't ask too many questions about his deceased parents, but since going to Hogwarts questions had sprouted up in his head. Harry, even as the years wore on, still carried the baggage from all the lives lost in the war and often avoided the topic. Understandably, it got on his godson's last nerve. All he wanted was some answers!

Ron was no better. After his brother's death, he shied away from talking about the dead. It stung a bit too much. Ginny was the same way, which left very few people to speak on the topic. Hermione happened to be one of them.

She strode over to the blue haired boy, stopping beside him under the falling rain. He opted to stand in the heavy downpour instead of hiding under the canopy, and for the time being she would stand beside him.

"You're quite angry this afternoon."

"It's Harry," he snapped, running a hand through his blue locks, "Uncle Harry. I keep asking him about my parents, but he won't answer! How long does he expect me to hold out?"

"It's a sensitive topic Teddy," she reminded, patting his hand. "Your parents, specifically you're father, were quite dear to him. The fact that they didn't survive the war rests heavily on his soul."

"And you think it's easier on mine?" he growled, looking at her. The woman cocked an eyebrow at the boy and instantly he calmed down, looking at the porch floor. That was the wolf in him appearing then, poking out whenever he was superiorly angry. So far, he hadn't changed into a full-on wolf, and she wondered if he ever would. He might just have the carnal traits for the rest of his life.

"I never said that," she reminded, holding up a finger. "Don't jump to conclusions Teddy. I know that you wish your parents were here, but the fact of the matter is they can't be. Even though Harry comes off cold sometimes about the subject, he's really not trying to ignore you. He lost his parents at a very young age as well."

"So I've heard. Everyone at school thinks it's amazing that he's my godfather. I don't see it as a compliment." She sighed, resting her head on her hand. They stood in silence for a moment, rain pattering down on them.

"Would you tell me about them?" She glanced at the boy, seeing the desperation in his little brown eyes. He only ever seemed to ask Harry about his parents for some strange reason, and she supposed it was because of his position in the boy's life. But Harry was too connected to the situation to properly tell the story without getting overly emotional, and that was one reason why he never said a word. However, she didn't think he would actually ask her. This had been going on for three years and he'd never asked someone else. And now he was requesting answers from her.

She took several moments to think over what she was going to say before speaking. "You're parents wanted the best for you Teddy. That's one of the reasons they aren't here for you today."

He spun on her, eyes livid. "I know why they aren't here! They fought in your war; they died fighting for your cause!" He took a step back. "But they aren't here for me now! It took them away, and everyone expects me to understand it! I don't understand! I don't get why they both had to die!"

Her expression softened, and she watched the child lose control. He was in the same boat Harry had been in, lost and alone without parents. Throughout their school years, Harry hid his angst well, too encompassed in the task set ahead of him from the moment his parents died. He had a cushion, a bit of a distraction from all the family-related things he missed out on, and he had the Weasley's. He had people to comfort him and help him through it, but Teddy led a lonely life. He didn't seem to have many friends, and it appeared that he shut people out. He wasn't quite as optimistic as Harry had been, but they were different people, and she shouldn't expect much less.

"They wanted you to have a future that wasn't shielded by darkness. They wanted to live someplace free Teddy, away from the evil that Voldemort stood for."

"Well, they shouldn't have!" he remarked, crossing his arms as he pouted, the rain splashing down on them. She studied him many moments before cocking an eyebrow.

"Harry really hasn't told you anything, has he?"

"No."

She nodded, nudging him. "Come here." She started for the doorway.

"Inside? But Aunt Ginny will have a fit- I'm all wet!"

"I'll handle Ginny," she said, pulling out her wand. A quick drying spell on the both of them in the doorway solved their problem almost immediately. "There, problem solved." Teddy only huffed in response. The brunette beckoned for him to follow her at that, and he did so reluctantly.

"He's shown you pictures of them, I know that much," she said as they stopped in the Harry's office. He kept a lot of mementoes from the war there.

"Pictures don't replace physical contact," Teddy muttered.

"I never said they did. Now stop being grouchy or perhaps I'll refuse to tell you something as well."

Begrudgingly, he dropped his attitude, if only because of the slim chance that she would actually tell him something. "I'm like my mother, aren't I?"

"Yes," she said, flipping through the photo album. "The Metamorphagi in you is courtesy of her. She used to love morning her hair and face to entertain people. You should feel very proud to have such a trait passed down to you. Many people can never experience such things, and no one can quite manipulate the technique without the limitations of a potion. You're very lucky."

She missed his soft smile as she flipped through the album, but beside her the boy stood with a soft grin on his face. People rarely whispered about his mother, but he never really heard anything bad. Everyone seemed surprisingly entranced with Nymphadora Tonks, his mother. And Hermione was right, his trait was special. He had yet to meet another Metamorphagi.

"Here," she said, setting the album down. Pointing to a picture of two people, he instantly recognized this all- too familiar picture and leaned in closer, grazing his finger over the photograph.

"They're so young," he whispered.

"They died young Teddy," she reminded, crossing her arms. "I know you think it's stupid that they're gone, that they didn't save their lives to be with you, but it's a selfish desire in a way. They were exceptional members of the Order, something I know Harry has discussed with you. Remus, your father, was such a good strategist, and your mother could pull off so many disguises. She was also incredibly good in combat. You miss your parents, and I realise that, but you should also feel proud. They will go down in history as legacies amongst all the people who perished trying to dispel evil from the world. It might not fully be gone, but people like your parents help push the matter. Sometimes good people can outweigh the bad."

Teddy had nothing to say to that, too busy staring down at the picture in front of him, his fingers tracing over his parents faces again. After a moment or two, he turned away and looked at the wall.

"It doesn't help to just hear about them," he whispered, sounding very much like a lost child, "It doesn't make them anymore real. They're gone, and I know you're trying to help but you're not. Photographs won't cover the fact that they aren't going to come back. They weren't here for my birthdays, they didn't see me off at the train station my first year at Hogwarts, nothing. It doesn't change the fact that they aren't a part of my life!"

"I know," she sighed, studying his back. "Nothing is going to change that I'm afraid. It's not fair to you, or anyone else who grew up without their parents, to never have that connection. It would be very hard to handle."

"It is," he spat, but his tone wasn't venomous. More than anything, he sounded frustrated. For a fourteen year old he wasn't the happiest person on the planet, and it showed through his tough exterior very clearly now as they spoke of his parents, his composure fracturing at the edges. Hermione knew that Harry confided mostly in Ron and Ginny about his internal problems during school, but at least he spoke out. Teddy was trying to keep the loneliness inside, playing it off like there wasn't a piece of his heart missing. But she saw through his lie. He was just a kid, a child susceptible to breaking under the grief of not having parents. Teddy simply held onto the fact more so than many of the orphaned children she'd met in the past.

"Why do you hold on to this?" she asked, watching him for a reaction. "You never knew your parents Teddy, and I know it's a bit cruel to say, but it is the reality of things. You hold such grief for the parents you lost, but they are also people you never knew. Why hold on when it's only hurting you?"

His hair changed from blue to green to black, his conflicting emotions altering the colour. She was very used to this from the young boy, and was almost readying herself for the animalistic howl that sometimes followed his raging emotions when he turned around and slumped on the floor. Surprisingly, she stepped forward.

"It's lonely not having parents," he said, staring at the floor. "Who am I supposed to talk to about my day, about how school was all year? Who's supposed to wish me a Merry Christmas through ridiculously long letters?"

She sat down carefully, eyeing the sad boy. "Harry and Ginny do all those things for you Teddy. And before they did, Andromeda did it."

"It's not the same," he argued, staring at the floorboards. "Ginny and Harry aren't really my parents, Andromeda isn't really my mum. They are someone else's parents. They aren't mine."

"They treat you like their own," she reminded, but he continued to shake his head.

"Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if at least one of them had lived," he said, finally looking back up at the brunette, who was surprised to find his eyes glossy. "I wonder if my mother would tell me how to handle this Metamorphagi nonsense, or if my father could tell whether or not I'd ever become a werewolf. I wonder if I wouldn't be so freakish at school if I just knew how to handle my stupid traits I inherited."

"You're parents had to learn to handle their traits too," Hermione said, staring into his eyes. "They can be very dangerous to have, and harder to control, especially the wolf in you. When your father used to change at school when he was a child, his friends would take him down the Shrieking Shack at night and let him change where he couldn't' hurt anyone. Give it time Teddy, and you can develop friendships like that."

"I don't want friendships!" he spat, throwing his arms up, "I just want my parents in my life!"

The woman scooted closer to Teddy as he broke down, and he tried to shove her away as he began crying. She wouldn't have it though, and merely wiped the tears away with her fingers as they fell. Pulling out a handkerchief, she handed it to him and he took it greedily. As he was distracted cleaning his face up, she levitated the photo album down to the ground beside them and pulled the picture of his parents out. She was still looking at it as he finished composing himself.

Hermione looked at him. "You're going to have big shoes to fill someday. You're parents left a long legacy for you to follow through on."

"My parents left me everything," he muttered.

She pat his hand. "You're parents left you with the opportunity to have a life, remember that." She placed the photograph on his knee, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "They're gone Teddy, but they aren't forgotten. You have to remember that there are people like you and I who will help people remember who they were."

He nodded, seemingly lost in thought. When he said nothing, she slowly got up. "I'll let you think."

"Hermione!" he called, as she began to walk away. She turned around, eyeing the young boy. "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for, Teddy?"

The boy hesitated only a moment. "For being honest with me, for sharing tidbits about my family. Harry gets too upset to do that."

"You should talk to him," Hermione said, her expression softening. "I know he doesn't like the topic, but I think the two of you would connect over this more than you and I can. Whether or not he wants to admit it, the pair of you can bond over that awful experience of never knowing your parents. You just have to urge him to speak on the matter- kindly. He'll come around."

"You think so?" Teddy asked, sounding very uncertain. She nodded.

"Harry is going to have to deal with the ghosts from his past someday just like you. Perhaps you two should learn to deal with them together. Keep that picture Teddy, Harry won't mind."

"Really?"

"No. I'm surprised you haven't taken it already." She gave the boy a soft smile. "I'll leave you be."

He nodded, saying no more as he got lost in his thoughts, his fingers again tracing over the faces of his fallen parents as she left. The door to the study closed behind her, and she was surprised to find Harry leaning against the wall.

"I see you've made more progress than I ever have," he muttered.

"I just talked to him," she corrected, rolling her eyes. She reached up and brushed some of the hair off his face. "You should too Harry, he desperately wants to know about them."

"I know," the man said, sighing. "It's just so hard to look back on those memories and not feel something."

"It's hard on everyone to look back on the war," she reminded, patting his arm. "This situation just happens to be particularly sensitive for you."

"Yes," Harry replied, running fingers through his hair. "I'll try after dinner that is if he's still in the mood to talk."

"Good," the brunette said, smiling. "I was hoping you would opt to try soon instead of avoiding this again."

"No," he sighed, shaking his head. "Lesson learnt, I can't just ignore the war forever. Teddy, like so many others, deserves to know about the people lost. I can't let my emotions distract me from that fact."

She nodded. "I'm glad you see it that way. Perhaps the two of you can discuss your troubles together. After all, you're the best person for this particular situation."

Harry agreed, reaching out to hug his friend. During emotional situations like this, he was always happy to have her as a friend. She could remain level-headed when he could not. And she loved her for that.

Teddy probably did too.

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**A/n:** Hope you liked it! Leave a review if you'd be so kind and hop on over to my profile page to follow the link to the Leukemia site and donate to a great cause! For details you can PM me too.


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